


One Night Out

by Mayhem21



Series: Total Mayhem [1]
Category: Weiß Kreuz, Yoroiden Samurai Troopers | Ronin Warriors
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-19
Updated: 2006-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-04 10:43:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/392971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mayhem21/pseuds/Mayhem21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new demon lord turns his attention to Earth, only one of the Ronins learns of the threat. The only way to defeat this threat will require the Warrior of the Heavens to team up with a turncoat general with an agenda of her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a companion piece to the "Total Mayhem" series, which is set in the universe of the anime series "Weiss Kreuz." You do NOT have to know anything about "Total Mayhem" to understand this fic. All you need to know is that the stuff about "Taketori" and "Ran" and the flashbacks are from TM.
> 
> Again, you DON'T need to have read "Total Mayhem" to know what's going on.
> 
> Just thought You'd want to know.
> 
> We do not own "Ronin Warriors" or "Weiss Kreuz."
> 
> This fic is a re-write of Zoomagna's "One Night Out." Zoomagna graciously granted us permission to rework her story to make it fit with our "Weiss Kreuz" story arc, "Total Mayhem." Zoomagna's original story may be found at We would like to thank Zoomagna for her kind support. We hope she enjoys the final product.

#### Shinma Realm, Throne Room

The doors to the throne room swung open on well-oiled hinges. Three figures stepped over the threshold, marching towards the grandiose throne. The first was a large, hulking figure with dark, wicked wings swooping out behind him. The second's mismatched limbs lent him a grotesque appearance that struck fear and horror in all who beheld him. The final figure was almost slight, and had curves that were distinctly female. As they reached the throne, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads.

The dark ruler looked over them with grave eyes. "The time has come," he began in a deep voice, "to begin another assault."

"What are your orders, Lumen Baron?" the winged creature asked.

"The same as always, General Raven," the Lumen Baron replied. "General Shayna, you will investigate this new Realm. Deploy your best scouts. General Chimera, prepare the army for invasion. And you, General Raven," he added, "coordinate." He gave them one last look. "Dismissed."

"Baron Shado," Shayna interrupted in a hesitant voice, "if I may ask, what is the name of this Realm?"

"It's name?" Naga Shado asked in surprise. "Why, its inhabitants refer to it as Earth."

* * *

#### Earth Realm, Forest outside of Tokyo

Toma gave the clearing a quick look and dropped his bag onto the forest ground. "Looks like as good a place as any," he muttered. "Far enough away from the city to not pose a threat and far enough from Natsutè's house not to alert the others." His eyes darkened slightly as his mind flicked back towards the other armor bearers. Shaking his head sharply, he scowled. "They're not a concern. Besides," he muttered as he kicked his bag under a tree, "it's been years since I spoke to them. Not since that happened."

* * *

####  _Nasutè's House, Three years earlier_

Everyone was gathered around the TV to watch a movie when the phone rang. Nastè gave them all an exasperated look when no one moved. "Don't worry," she said dryly, "I'll get it."

_Rising to her feet, she crossed over to the kitchen and picked up the receiver. "Hello," she said. She blinked and put her hand over the mouthpiece. "Toma," she called, "It's for you."_

_"Coming," he called back. Rising, the archer hurried over to the kitchen and took the phone from Nastè. "Hello? Oh, Ran, how…"_

_Nasutè watched in growing concern as his face paled. Toma gave her a sudden look and turned, heading upstairs, still holding the phone to his ear._

_Toma shut the door to his room and slid to the floor. "Which hospital are you at, Ran? And which room? I'll be there as soon as I can."_

* * *

#### Present

"Stupid Taketori," Toma scowled. "Bastard destroyed what little family I had." And the worst part, he reflected, was that Taketori had been human. Ever since fighting Arago, he'd thought demons would be the only ones to put his family in danger. But no, a smarmy, koala look-a-like politician had used the only decent family he had as a cover for his own illegal dealings.

But Ran had taken care of that, he thought with grim satisfaction. It didn't do to annoy his cousin. He was a natural red-head and had the temper to go along with it. Running over Ran's baby sister and putting her in a coma certainly hadn't helped Taketori. No, his cousin had somehow gotten close enough to the politician to run him through with a sword. But the worst part had been not being able to help.

* * *

####  _Hashiba household, three years earlier_

  


"Listen to me, Toma," his father finally roared. "My sister, your aunt and her family have brought great shame to us! You are not to talk to Ran or Aya under any circumstances!"

_Toma laughed bitterly. "How can I talk to Aya? She's in a coma!"_

_"All the better," his father snapped. "It is unfortunate, yes, but what is even more unfortunate is that her parents decided to embezzle from their employer!"_

* * *

#### Present

In the end, he'd conceded. He'd hated himself for it, but he'd done it. He couldn't stand there and argue with his father like that. Not when the old man had their entire extended family's backing. So he'd done what his mother had asked him to do – he'd kept his head down and remained civil. Had "kept the peace," just like he was supposed to. But only for his mother.

His lips curled slightly. Mom had been amazing. Despite traveling all over the world, despite having constant deadlines and mountains of work, she'd pulled money together for him to send to Ran. She'd allowed him to escape his relatives by offering to let him travel with her every couple of months, working with her, earning money to send to Ran and keep up his own schooling.

And now he was here. In a remote clearing in the middle of the woods just as the sun was setting. About to use the armor he'd ignored for the past three years. After all, using the armor seemed to attract demons and monsters and other such creatures. It made sense to keep it put away. Especially while traveling. As much fun as it would have been to watch Frenchmen getting eaten by demons, he really couldn't afford to take the time off to deal with it.

But now that would have to change. Several months ago, something, he didn't know what, had almost ripped through the barrier separating the demon world and the mortal world. He had a feeling Ran had been involved somehow…but it didn't matter. Something had decided to make a big ruckus and he needed to get back into shape to take care of it if it decided to come back.

Grasping the glowing orb in one hand, Toma took a deep breath and summoned the mystical armor.

* * *

General Shayna frowned slightly as she suddenly sensed a disturbance in her forces. Her scouts were disappearing one by one…extremely quickly. And…well, now they were gone.  
She glared at the tree she stood under and began to run towards the location where her scouts had been demolished. There was a strong power there, she realized, an extremely strong power. Her eyes narrowed. This power, if it was a person, could be very useful.

She came to a halt a few minutes later and ducked behind a tree. There was a warrior in blue armor in the clearing before her. Around him lay the bodies of her scouts. He had one by the throat and was attempting to extract information from it.

She raised an eyebrow slightly. How he expected to get information when he was cutting off its air supply…but he got points for trying. She reached down and pulled a short dagger from her boot. In one fluid motion, she let the blade fly. Within seconds, it was firmly embedded in her scout's skull.

Toma whipped around, launching the body towards her as he leapt away. Shayna's eyes went wide as the body flew over her head and disappeared into the woods.

"I'd say that's a 9.5 in the Olympic game of hurling," she said mockingly as she stepped out. "Congratulations, you've won the gold."

"Who are you," Toma snapped. "Who do you work for? Why are you here?"

"The information you've requested is far too sensitive for the likes of children," she snapped back. "Go back to playing with your blocks and trains. I don't have time to deal with a weak and pathetic boy."

Toma pressed his lips together, eyes flashing dangerously. "Tough talk coming from someone whose minions were just wiped out."

"I don't blame you for being afraid," Shayna taunted. "It's only natural that you would cower before the superior member of your species."

"You asked for it, little girl," he snapped. With that, he lunged forward and tackled her to the ground. She wriggled, slipping out from under him and staggered to her feet.

Her foot lashed out just as Toma rolled to one side and onto his feet. Both stood poised for action when Shayna decided to make the first move. She swung at him only to have her blow blocked while Toma simultaneously brought his other hand up in an open hand slap that hit her with enough force to knock her to the ground. He took a step back to allow her to stand. He didn't want it to end too quickly after all, and besides, it was his turn to have some fun.

Shayna's eyes were ablaze as she leapt, grabbing Toma around the waist and bringing them to the ground yet again, but this time she did not try to escape. This time she was intent on inflicting as much pain and suffering as possible after he had insulted her like he had.

They scuffled for several minutes, each attempting cause as much damage as possible to their opponent in an effort to emerge triumphant. In the end, Toma was the one to emerge victorious with Shayna pinned beneath him.

"Now tell me who you work for," he demanded after he had caught his breath.

"It's a secret," she said slyly. "Come closer."

Toma sighed heavily and leaned a little closer. He knew what she was trying to do, so since her little game wouldn't work there was no harm in playing along.

"Closer," she coaxed.

When he still wasn't close enough she goaded him further.

"Come on, I'm not gonna bite. Besides, you want to know the answer to your question don't you?"

Finally, Toma leaned down till they were almost nose to nose when she suddenly leaned up and kissed him. He released her and quickly scrambled off of her in shock.

"Are you crazy?"

"How else was I supposed to get you off me," Shayna snapped in irritation. She gave him a dark glare as she stood up and began to dust herself off. "Now that you've proven your worth, let's talk."

"It's hard to take that smug act seriously," Toma replied coolly as he folded his arms across his chest. "Especially since I can still see my handprint on your face."

"Fine, you won. Now that we've established your alpha male dominance, can we talk?"

"About what?" Toma asked skeptically. "Your terms of surrender?"

"Forget it. If you don't care if your world is frozen in time and cast into eternal darkness, neither do I. Just don't come crying to me when it's all over." That said, Shayna spun on her heel and began to stalk away.

"Hey, Hey!" Toma shouted. He lunged forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her around to face him. "What are you talking about?"

"Invasion, blue boy," she snapped. "My boss is out to rule the universe. He's also a complete nutjob who thinks he can create a New Light to bring about a Golden Age. Under his rule, of course. However, it just so happens that I'm disinclined to allow him to take over this particular world."

"This world?" Toma asked in a skeptical voice. He gave her a long look before releasing her arm. "Ok, fine. But how does this involve me? What do I care? I'm a night person. I sunburn easily. Why shouldn't I welcome darkness?"

Shayna gave him a furious glare. "Because I can't do it on my own," she snapped. "And you're the only one strong enough. I need your help." Her last words were spoken in a whisper.

Toma looked at her, into her eyes and knew. He knew that she was telling the truth. She didn't want this world destroyed. She cared enough to swallow her pride and ask for his help.

"Ok. What's the plan?"

Shayna looked up, startled. "You, you'll help?" she asked in startled surprise.

Toma shrugged. "Not like I've got anything better to do. Going home and feeding the dog really pales in comparison to saving the world. And since I don't have a dog, well…"

Shayna stared at him a moment longer before a smirk slid across her face. "Good," she said, "my name's Shayna. I'll tell you on the way."


	2. Chapter Two

#### Shinma Realm, Outskirts

They'd been walking in silence for several minutes now. The plan was actually quite simple. Get in, kill the wanna-be evil overlord, get out. Typically, Toma preferred to work with a little more detail, but in this case, he was willing to make an exception. He was getting to spend time with a pretty girl, after all.

"So, you're a human from Earth. How did you end up working for the Marvin Martian of the universe?"

Shayna looked at him in confusion. "Who?"

Toma faltered for a moment, started to explain, stopped, and started again before giving his head a sharp shake.

"Never mind." He blinked for a moment. "So, how did a pretty girl like you end up in a place like this?"

Shayna looked away for a moment, pretending to study the burgundy sky.

"It was an accident, really. Some men came for my brother and I. The next thing I knew, I was here. Naga Shado, the Marvin Martian as you put it, took me in and raised me. Or rather, my nurse and tutors raised me. He just showed up every now and then to check on my progress."

She gave him a sharp look.

"I'm not a good person. And I'm doing this for purely selfish reasons." Her gaze faltered. "I probably shouldn't have brought you into this in the first place."

Toma gave her an exasperated look.

"My home is about to be overrun, frozen in time and cast into eternal darkness. And I seem to be the only one who knows about it. So I have to be the one to fix this." He made a face. "It's like those doomsday, action movies. There I was, minding my own business and suddenly the fate of the world rests on my shoulders."

"So you're staying?" she asked cautiously.

"Looks like it," he replied easily.

"I see," Shayna murmured. Then she gave him another look. "What were you doing in the middle of nowhere?"

"Me?" Toma asked in surprise. "Oh, well, something happened a few months ago. I don't know what it was, just that it caused a huge disruption in the flow of space and time."

"And you didn't do something about it then?"

He shrugged. "I was leaving the country to visit my mother. I was literally in the airport when it happened. Didn't get back until a few days ago."

He looked out over the landscape as he thought. The grass and bushes were a soft, robin's egg blue. There were trees with yellow, starburst leaves and various woodland creatures darting here and there.

"I haven't used the armor for a while. There were, well, some family problems a few years ago. And since using the armor seems to attract bad guys, I just…stopped…using it. There are others like me, with mystical armor, but, well, I just didn't have time to keep up with them. As a result, I really don't know where they are or what they're doing."

Shayna studied the blue armor warrior. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a mace and chain came hurling through the air and slammed into his head.

"Toma!" she shouted as he lurched forward and hit the ground.

"Looks like we have you all to ourselves now," a snide voice said from in front of them.

Shayna bared her teeth as a large, hulking bandit in mismatched, ill-kept armor stepped out onto the path. Behind him was a smaller bandit armed with a spear and a sniveling, weasely looking figure clutching a rusted knife. A sudden rustling noise alerted her to more bandits coming up the path behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, quickly spotting another hulking giant and a smaller bandit.

"Is it really going to take all five of you to take down little ol' me?" she taunted.

The giant in front lunged forward, snarling angrily. Shayna stepped to one side, seized his arm and flipped him onto his back. From behind, the smaller bandit leapt forward and wrapped an arm around her neck. Her hands seized his arm as she angled her head downward and bit hard. The bandit yelped as blood began to slide down his arm and leapt backwards, cradling his wounded limb. Shayna lunged forward and landed a hard blow on his jaw. The last giant lumbered forward, swinging a large tree limb. Ducking quickly, she kicked his legs out from under him. As the giant fell, she leapt and stabbed him with her sai.

Unnoticed by Shayna, the spear wielding bandit crept forward and took aim at her. Just as he drew back the spear, a finger tapped his shoulder. The bandit froze and slowly turned to look behind him.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not polite to hit a lady?" Toma growled. The bandit blinked, his eyes crossing as the warrior punched him. Toma scowled at the fallen bandit, kicking him in the ribs once before hurrying over to Shayna.

"Need a hand?" he asked anxiously.

"Thanks," she said after a moment. Grasping his outstretched hand, she pulled herself to her feet. They both turned to look up the path. The last bandit, the skinny sniveling one, was running. Toma's eyes narrowed and he raised an arm over his shoulder to grab an arrow. As he pulled out his bow and took aim, Shayna pushed the weapon down.

"Let him be," she growled, still watching the fleeing bandit. "Let him carry word to the Lumen Baron that we're coming."

Toma looked at her before shrugging. "You know best," he said as he swung the bow back onto his back.

"Naturally," she replied, her normal cocky smile re-appearing on her face. "Now, let me take a look at you. That mace hit you pretty hard."

"It's not that bad," Toma protested. "I don't need…hey!"

"Oh hush," the woman scolded as she pulled off his helmet. She studied it for a moment, a finger tracing the large crack in the metal. "Well, this is useless," she muttered. "One more hit to this and it'll shatter."

"Well, my skull will shatter if I don't have it!" Toma protested. "Now give it back!"

Shayna continued to ignore him, chewing on her lip as her mind raced. Finally, she took the helm by the horns and closed her eyes. The helmet began to glow, getting brighter and brighter until there was a flash of white light.

Toma opened his eyes and looked at her hands. Instead of his helmet, she was now cradling a small blue orb.

Shayna grinned at him. "I think I'll hang onto this," she said coyly. "That way you'll always be with me."

Toma gave her a dark look, grumbling softly to himself.

* * *

#### Shinma Realm, Army Headquarters

"General Raven, sir," an officer said in a crisp voice as he snapped to attention. "Sir, one of our patrols has located a band of bandits. What would you like done with them?"

Raven looked up from his paperwork, annoyance clear in his eyes. "Have you considered questioning them?" he growled. "There might be more to their band. Do they know of any others?"

"Uh, they were found unconscious sir. How are we supposed to question them?"

"Wake them up!" Raven snapped. "Drop a pail of cold water on them, slap them, anything!"

"Sir, one of them is dead."

"Then you're going to have trouble questioning that one, aren't you?"

"Uh, yes, sir! We'll get right to it, sir!" With one last salute, the officer ducked out of the room.

Raven groaned, leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

* * *

#### Shinma Realm, Throne Room

"Why have you come, General," Naga Shado growled.

"One of our patrols captured a bandit my lord. I'm afraid I have rather bad news, my lord Baron," Raven said in a humble voice, eyes fixed on the floor.

Naga Shado gave him an annoyed look. "We are on the verge of liberating another realm, General. Soon, we shall cast it into darkness, preparing it for the Light. We do not have time for bad news, General."

"I apologize, but it concerns General Shayna, my lord," Raven said. "she has betrayed you. She recruited a warrior of Earth to assist her in destroying you."

Naga Shado's face turned to stone. "Let them come," he growled.

* * *

#### Shinma Realm

"Is that bow the only weapon you have?" Shayna asked curiously.

Toma shrugged. "That's it. It's worked fine in the past."

"You should consider getting a bladed weapon of some sort," she said thoughtfully. "I know of several realms that have smiths that specialize in creating weapons for warriors who use magic. You could get one to match your armor's abilities."

"But I don't use the armor that much," he reminded her. "The only reason I summoned it earlier was to get back into shape in case something happened. "

She shrugged. "Then we'll get one that you can use without the armor as well."

Toma nodded crisply. "Sounds good."

They walked in silence for several minutes before Toma spoke up again. "Shay, if you know about these smiths, are there like, any libraries or something? I mean, places that would have the history of the various realms and/or magic?"

Shayna looked him in surprise. Toma's face reddened slightly as he looked away.

"I was just curious," he said sheepishly. "But still, think about it!"

A look of confusion crossed the auburn-haired warrior's face. "Well, I suppose there are. I know of a few monasteries…I could ask around…"

Toma's eyes lit up. "Could you?" he exclaimed. "That would be amazing! Just think of everything we could learn!"

Shayna stared at him. "We?"

Toma froze for a moment, his blushing face darkening further.

"Uh, yeah, well," he stuttered, "I figured that since you know about this and since I know Earth we could, uh, help each other out."

Shayna looked at Toma, biting her lip as she looked at his bright red face.

The warrior looked at her sheepishly, one hand rising to scratch the back of his head. A snicker escaped her lips.

Toma blinked. And blinked again as Shayna doubled over, laughing helplessly. She had never seen anyone turn red like that, and it was a very interesting shade.

"You should do that more often," he said after a moment, a slight smile appearing on his face. "You're really beautiful when you do." His eyes widened for a moment. "Not that you aren't beautiful all the time…uh, I mean…oh hell."

Shayna froze and gave him an odd look.

"Did you mean that?" she demanded.

"Which part," he asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"The first part," she answered, her voice turning curious.

"Uh, well," Toma stuttered, "I didn't say anything I didn't really mean. Uh, yeah, I guess I meant it." His eyes shifted for a moment. "Don't kill me," he added in a meek voice.

Shayna looked at him, her blue eyes widening slightly.

"It's not bad," she began hesitantly, "it's just that no one's ever said that to me before."

Stunned shock washed over Toma.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked incredulously. "You're gorgeous, someone should have said something! At least once!" His eyes flashed angrily. "Of all the blatant injustice, what kind of antiquated, dark ages realm is this where they are apparently incapable of recognizing stunning beauty? I mean . . ." he stopped as he looked up into Shayna's frightened eyes.

Shayna watched him rant, memories of tutors and nurses suffering because of her actions. As she'd grown older, Naga Shado had taken his displeasure out on her more and more often.

"Oh, hell," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm not mad at you," he said worriedly. "I'm mad that the cretins that inhabit this realm never gave you a moment's consideration. You shouldn't have had to wait, what, thirteen, fourteen years to hear that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

He hesitated for a moment, his mind racing for a way to make her calm down. Toma tried to think, trying to remember how his mother had calmed him down in the past. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. Her body was stiff at first but slowly began to relax.

Shayna's mind whirled as Toma pulled her against him. For a moment, her mind went completely blank. Gradually, vague memories of a red-haired woman wrapping her up in her arms, of her brother curling up against her as they slept.

Toma tightened his arms slightly as he felt Shayna slowly start to hug him back. He rested his cheek on her head and continued to hold her.

Several minutes later, Shayna pulled away, her face slightly red.

"What a touching scene," a snide voice suddenly interrupted. "If more follows, I think I'll be sick."

Toma stiffened, his hand reaching behind his back as he drew bow and arrow. Shayna's face turned to stone as she spun around to glare at the intruder.

"What do you want, Chimera," she spat.

"I want you beneath me," the general said in a lecherous voice, "and to then deliver your head to the Lumen Baron." A vile smirk crossed the general's face.

Shayna's jaw dropped as a golden arrow ripped through General Chimera's throat.

The general gasped, the sound ending in a faint gurgle as blood began seeping into his lungs and spurted out his neck. He struggled in vain for air as he clutched at his throat only to have his spindly, wretched fingers covered in rich red warmth that oozed from what little shreds of flesh remained. He gasped and gasped again, each time the gurgling becoming more prominent as he drowned in his own blood. He gazed into the cold hard eyes of the one that had robbed him of life. Slowly and painfully, his consciousness began to slip away. He died in only half as much agony as he deserved to endure, but his existence had been erased and that was all that truly mattered.

Several hours later, Shayna gave Toma a careful look.  
"So, why exactly did you feel it necessary to deprive me of what was rightfully my kill?" she asked calmly.

"Because you didn't need to sully your hands with his foul blood."

There was a moment of silence.

"Is there anything else I should know about that sets you off? Litterers? Kitten haters? Posers?"

Toma laughed lightly. Shayna promptly smacked him upside the head.

"Do not laugh at me," she snarled, eyes flashing dangerously.

Toma struggled for words as his jaw worked and his hands clutched at empty air.

"I just," he sputtered, "I defended your honor, you made a joke, I laughed and you hit me?"

"You what?" she demanded.

"He insulted you. I took him out." Toma stared at her for a moment, his world jerking out from under him as he realized that she truly did not understand. He took a deep breath and began to speak once more. "He had no right to speak to you like that. Where I'm from, that just doesn't fly. Look, at this point we at least qualify as friends and as such we are supposed to look out for each other. That means that if someone insults you, I am obligated to defend your honor."

"So, then, I am also obligated to defend your honor?" she asked more than a little confused.

"Not quite," Toma said after a moment. "Traditionally, men take care of such matters for the women so that they don't have to waste their time with such petty concerns. It is one of the ways guys show they care for and respect a woman."

"Well," Shayna said as she blinked rapidly. "I suppose I should thank you."

"If you think you need to," Toma said carefully. "I'm quite happy to eliminate scum from your path."

"Good," she said, her lips curling into a feral smile. "Then why don't we continue?"

"Of course," he replied in a dry voice. "Lead the way, oh great mistress."

"Huh?"

Toma shook his head sharply, his teeth gritting together slightly as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He took a deep breath, released it and looked her in the eye.

"Walk," he said in a strangled voice.

* * *

"I assume you've been sent to stop us," Shayna said in an irked voice. "Well, I hope you know what happened to Chimera. This one," she said jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Toma, "feels obligated to defend my honor. Think carefully before you speak."

General Raven gave her a careful look. He'd appeared before the pair, swooping down in front of them in a flash of dark feathers. He held up his hand, as if in surrender.

"My only purpose," he growled, "is to determine if you are truly capable of destroying Naga Shado."

"Well," Toma said in a dry voice, "even if we can't kill him, there won't be much scenery left for him to admire."

Raven gave the blue-armor warrior a piercing look, measuring him with silent eyes.

"You'd better," the general snapped. "I am sick and tired of sitting behind a desk while I'm eternally pestered by inane, sniveling minions that lack the collective intelligence of a rock. I'm sick and tired of being treated like your common desk clerk/errand boy when I have the experience and training to qualify me for the Lumen Baron's job, not that he's doing a very good job of it himself right now. The stupid, arrogant, over-indulging, narcissistic megalomaniac doesn't even realize he is about to lose his entire kingdom because he's got his head shoved so far up his own ass. You know what, good luck. I'm outta here, I can't handle this anymore. See ya."

Shayna and Toma could only stare in stunned silence as the intimidating general began to rant, striding up and down a small patch of dirt as he waved his hands in the air, wings twitching violently behind him. His sudden departure left them standing in an almost embarrassed silence.

"I hope he doesn't do something stupid," Shayna finally said, her brow furrowing.

"Actually, I think that was good for him," Toma replied. The silence stretched on. Finally Toma spoke up again. "I suppose we should get moving."

Shayna jerked slightly.

"Of course," she muttered.

Several uneventful hours later, the two warriors found themselves standing in front of an ornate iron-wrought fence.

"We're here," Shayna said dryly.

"I would never have guessed," Toma replied in an equally dry voice.


	3. Chapter Three

#### Shinma Realm, Naga Shado's Castle

"We're here," Shayna said dryly.

"I would never have guessed," Toma replied in an equally dry voice. The silence stretched on once more. Finally, Toma gave his head a slight shake and grabbed the iron fence and wrenched it open. "Ladies first," he said blandly as he gave Shay a sweeping bow.

Shayna laughed.

"I take it you're ready?" she asked in amusement.

"Naturally," he replied.

Shay stepped past him into the empty courtyard. She glanced around, eyes narrowing suspiciously when no opposition appeared. Slowly, the two warriors walked up the long path to the castle entrance. The heavy wooden doors swung open silently when Shay gave them a gentle push. After exchanging a look with Toma, they stepped into the darkness.

Toma glanced around the dank walls, the battered tapestries lending the already dismal castle a morbid air.

"This is a cheery place," he commented dryly.

Shayna made a face.

"Try growing up here," she said in a sour voice.

"Can't. I'm already grown up."

"Oh really?" Shay asked skeptically. She rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

"I'm waiting for you," Toma grinned. "You're the one with the map in your head."

"Fine, do you want to go the long way or the short way?"

Toma blinked.

"That's a trick question, right?"

"I'm serious," she replied with a slight frown. "There are two basic ways to get to the throne room, which is where Naga Shado most likely is. One is long and the other is shorter."

"Fine," Toma groaned. "The short way. I'd prefer to end this as quickly as possible."

"Fine by me," Shayna grumbled. Reaching out, she grabbed his arm and hauled him into a nearby room. Toma glanced around idly, studying the dusty furniture while Shayna walked over to the fireplace and turned a candle stick holder mounted on the wall beside it.

The panel behind the fireplace slid open.

Toma's head whipped around.

"You have got to be kidding me," he groaned.

"What?"

"I…the…you have got to be kidding me!"

Shayna shot him a confused look.

"What are you babbling about now?"

"The fireplace…and…" Toma groaned, his eyes snapping shut as he ran a hand through his hair. Finally, he opened his eyes and gave her a sour look. "You couldn't come up with anything more original? 'Cause I was pretty sure that, what with the way this guy runs things, he'd be a little more creative."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied in a mystified voice.

"I give up," he muttered, looking at the ceiling, searching for…something. "Let's just go."

Shay shrugged.

"If you're done whining," she said, "we can go."

With that, she turned and ducked under the mantle and into the passageway.

"This is a bad idea," Toma muttered to himself as he followed. "If I've learned anything from horror movies, it's not to go into a dark, dusty secret passage. If I was watching this, I'd be screaming at me…then again, since we've established this is a hero movie and that the fate of the world rests on my shoulders," he continued, "I should make it out alive!"

Toma jogged to catch up with the auburn-haired woman.

"Hey, Shay," he began in a cheerful voice, "would you describe us as adventuring heroes, reluctant heroes, virtuous heroes or flawed heroes?"

Shayna frowned, her pace slowing slightly. She turned to look at him.

"I don't know about you, but I'm rather flawed," she said in a serious voice.

"What do you mean?" Toma asked after a moment.

"I've told you before," she snapped. "I'm not a good person. I have assisted in conquering other realms, I have slaughtered innocent people and this little 'quest' here? It has nothing to do with helping other people or saving your pathetic little realm. It's about doing what I want. And what I want is to be free, to see my brother again." She glared at him. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Toma gave her a level look.

"Being forced to survive, doing horrible things because you had no choice and regretting it later doesn't make you flawed. It makes you human."

She bit her lip and looked away.

"I guess I'm just not very good at being human," she said softly.

Toma smiled slightly and reached out, grasping her hand and started to walk once more.

"I think you've done a great job so far," he replied.

* * *

"Oops."

"Oops, why opps? We're not allowed to have any oopses here!"

"I don't think we should have turned left at Albuquerque."

"…you don't know Marvin Martian but you know 'left at Albuquerque'?"

"Is that bad?"

* * *

As they came to a halt, a soft sound drifted to the blue-haired warrior's ears.

"Um…"

"You're joking."

* * *

"Ok, this time I'm sure."

"…"

"Well, mostly sure."

"…"

"95 percent."

"Shoot me."

* * *

"See?" Shayna exclaimed in triumph. She pointed ahead at a faint wisp of light. "See? There's the door!"

"I think we should have taken the long way," Toma muttered. "At this point, I'm not sure there would have been much of a difference." He studied the light for a moment. "That's the throne room?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes."

"I mean, you were positive last time."

"…shut up."

"And the time before that."

"I'll hurt you…"

"We didn't take a left turn at Albuquerque this time?"

"When this is over, I swear, I'm going to kill you."

"All right. You'd better be right. Or I'm going to feel like an idiot."

"What?"

Toma shot past Shay, a blue blur that slammed into the door, breaking it down and disappearing beyond.

"Prepare to meet your doom!"

Shayna groaned and stalked forward. Ignoring the startled Naga Shado lounging on his throne, she turned to Toma.

"Well, you may not feel like an idiot but you are one," she said dryly.

"Hey! I've always wanted to do that!"

"And just because you've always wanted to do it means now was the time?"

"When else am I going to have the chance? It's not like evil overlords are a dime a dozen!"

"We're in the middle of a very important conquest! This isn't playtime!"

"Hey, you should always take time to enjoy what you do. Besides, it's not like we're looking for the frickin' Holy Grail!"

Naga Shado could only watch his former general and her paramour bicker incessantly in shock. First, Shayna turned traitor. Then she killed one general and caused another to disappear. After breaking into his castle and busting down the door to his throne room, the pair just stopped. To argue. Ignoring him. Completely. Him, the Lumen Baron, the demon they sought to destroy! This was intolerable!

"Fools!" he roared. "Cease this petty bickering at once!"

"Shut up," Toma snapped, shooting a glare at Naga Shado.

"We're in the middle of something, in case you hadn't noticed," Shayna added, shooting off her own glare.

"I will not tolerate this!"

Toma snarled, eyes flashing dangerously as he yanked out bow and arrow.

"I don't have time to deal with this," he snapped even as he let loose his powerful attack.

Naga Shado's eyes went wide and his mouth gasped for air as he and his throne were slammed against the wall. The arrow had imbedded itself in the Lumen Baron's heart, but even so he was still alive. His heart continued to beat, pumping out small amounts of blood around the arrow a little at a time. The pain was excruciating as each heart beat felt like the stab of a million tiny needles.

"What did you just do?" Shay gasped. "He's mine!"

"He's not dead yet!" Toma snapped back. "You can still finish him off."

Shayna gave him a dark look.

"We are going to discuss this habit you're developing of stealing my kills," she snapped. "But before we can do that, I have to stop him from making that wretched noise!"

Spinning on her heel, the former general stalked forward and grabbed the long, dark sword lying on the ground. Grabbing the sword in one hand, she severed the Lumen Baron's head from his dying body.

"Now," she snarled turning back to Toma.

He stared at her, an odd look on his face.

"Why did you need me again?" he asked carefully.

"To help me kill Naga Shado!"

"Like we just did?"

"Ye…oh."

Shayna blinked and turned to look at Naga Shado's remains.

"No, oh, no, that was too easy," she muttered. "There's no way we just did that."

"I dunno," Toma said as he walked up beside her. "That blood's pretty convincing. It's still spurting out his neck!"

"But, we just…he didn't…I don't…"

"It's ok," the other warrior said comfortingly. "It's over."

"He's really dead," she whispered. "It's finally over."

"You got him," Toma said softly.

"No, that was too easy. He can't be dead. It's not fair. It was too easy."

Toma watched in growing concern as she began to ramble.

"It's ok. He's dead now."

"It's not ok!" she snarled even as tears began to appear in her eyes. "That bastard took seventeen years of my life. It's not ok!"

Toma's eyes went wide. Seventeen years? And if she remembered Earth, even vaguely, she had to be at least…

He gave his head a slight shake. Now was not the time.

"He died too easy. He was supposed to suffer! Like he made me suffer!" She gave him a helpless look. "He hurt so many people. Why didn't he suffer? Why?" she whispered.

As the tears began to streak down her face, Toma found himself at a complete loss for words. He didn't know how to fix this. He didn't know how to make it better.

"I don't know," came his honest reply as he moved closer to try and comfort her.

Toma closed the remaining distance between them quickly as Shayna collapsed and the tears ushered forth. And he held her as she cried out all the pain and loneliness. All of the anguish, fear and hate came pouring out of her through those tears. After what seemed to be a lifetime, Shayna finally pulled away from Toma's comforting embrace. She swiped at the tears that still stained her cheeks.

"Better now?" he asked softly, a look of concern in his eyes.

"Yeah, um ...thanks."

Toma smiled slightly.

"We're friends," he replied. "That's what friends do. Now," he continued, looking at Naga Shado's lifeless corpse. "What's say we blow this popsicle stand?"

"What's a popsicle stand?"

* * *

#### Yaiba Realm

The pair appeared in a warm, comforting room that just happened to be filled with weapons.

"You see?" Shay exclaimed in triumph. "I told you I could get us here! And all I had to do was ask for directions."

Toma jumped a foot into the air when a voice that sounded just like Miracle Max from "The Princess Bride" piped up behind him.

"You folks here for a reason?"

Shayna laughed, her blue eyes crinkling as she grinned.

"Do I need a reason, Metaru?" she asked teasingly.

"'Course not," Metaru replied, a slight grin appearing on his own wrinkled face. "It's just that, from what I hear, you've been busy of late."

"You've already heard that?" she asked in surprise. "Naga Shado's only been dead a few hours."

"It's gossip. You freed hundreds of realms. Word gets around when that sort of thing happens." Metaru waggled his eyebrows at the girl. "Now, what brings you to my humble smithy?"

"Him," Shayna replied, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the stunned Toma. "The only weapon he has is a bow. He has to hit people with it when they move in close. He needs something else."

Metaru nodded thoughtfully.

"I see your problem," he began, now starting to circle the blue-haired warrior. "You two have anything in mind?"

"A scythe," two voices immediately replied.

Metaru raised an eyebrow when he saw how the two blushed at their outburst and glanced away. He'd done his best to be there for Shayna as she grew and damned if he wasn't going to make sure she got a quality man.

"Well, what makes you say that?" he asked curiously.

Toma glanced at Shayna, his cheeks still pink.

"Well, apparently," he began, "I need a bladed weapon of some sort and since I already use my bow like a staff, and since that's what I usually spar with, a scythe seemed natural."

"He's also extremely quick" Shayna added. "Putting a scythe in his hands would make him extremely dangerous."

"I see," Metaru replied, still sizing up Toma. "Just how dangerous is he now?"

"Well, he's powerful enough-" she began.

"I'm not dangerous," Toma quickly replied. "Not at all. Nope. Shayna can kick my butt any day of the week. Not dangerous."

Metaru nodded to himself. Smart boy.

"What?" Shayna demanded. "What do you call what you did to Chimera?"

"What did he do?" Metaru demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Chimera said that he was going to drag me before Naga Shado after having his way with me," she stated calmly. "This one took his throat out with an arrow. Said he was 'defending my honor.'" She glared at Toma. "What he was doing was stealing my kill."

Toma threw his hands in the air. Shayna, who had always heard of this, was quite interested to actually see it done.

"We discussed this," he growled. "It's how I show I care and respect you. We're friends. Just friends!" he added quickly, glancing at Metaru. "Friends!" he finished looking back at Shayna.

"All right, children," Metaru interrupted. "I want this done before breakfast. Any specifications?"

"I need to be able to use it without my armor," Toma replied sourly. "Any time I use the armor, bad things happen."

"It needs to work with the armor as well," Shayna said, shooting Toma a look.

Metaru reached out and knocked on the armor. Toma jerked slightly and gave him a startled look.

"Say 'Ahh,' boy," the smith then growled.

Toma glanced at Shayna. The woman merely raised her eyebrows and nodded. He sighed and obediently opened his mouth.

"We'll want to streamline this a bit," Metaru said absently. "Who put this stuff together, anyways?"

"A monk," Toma stated.

"Bumbling, superstitious, know-it-alls," the smith muttered. "Should never be allowed near a forge." He grabbed one of the shoulder guards and gave it a hard shake. Toma suppressed an oath as he struggled to stay upright. "I'm going to need some of the original metal for the scythe," he commented.

"Will this work?" Shayna asked drawing a small orb from her belt pouch. She cradled it in her hands and concentrated. With a flash of light, the cracked helm appeared.

"Perfect," Metaru said in satisfaction. "Now give me that armor and get out. I've got work to do."

Toma sighed and willed the armor away. It appeared before him in its usual seated position.

Metaru eyed the denim jeans and t-shirt Toma wore with a critical eye.

"Better keep that one indoors," he commented. "He'll stand out."

* * *

"So," Toma began cautiously, "when we were in the throne room, you said that you'd been under Naga Shado for seventeen years. How old were you when he captured you?"

Shayna gave him a troubled look.

"I was seven."

Toma ran the numbers through his head. And then did them again. And again.

"Wait, there's no way in hell you're twenty-four."

"I beg your pardon! What's wrong with being twenty-four? It's roughly how old you are, aren't you?"

"Um, I'm…seventeen…"

"… What? You look older than that!"

"Yeah, well, you look younger."

"…Thank you?"

Toma rubbed his jaw with a long hand.

"Ok, so, what does this mean, exactly?" he begged.

"That you're seventeen and I'm twenty-four. Is that a problem?"

"Uh, well," the other warrior stuttered, "it's just that, on Earth, this would be considered...unusual."

"We're not on Earth, now, are we." Shayna pointed out.

"Well, if you don't have a problem with it," Toma cautiously said, "then I don't. Just thought I'd give you a heads up."

"A what?"

* * *

"All right, children," Metaru said gleefully, "it's all done."

"Why do I feel afraid?" Toma muttered to Shay.

"Because you are a very intelligent young man," she muttered back, amusement dancing in her eyes as they rose to their feet and followed the smith back to the smithy.

"I hope you appreciate this," Metaru grumbled. "Working with mystical armor is damned hard. A lesser smith would have failed." He suddenly spun around and pointed a finger in Toma's face. "I streamlined, I tweaked, I fiddled. And now, it will dazzle!"

"Metaru," Shay asked in amusement, "when was the last time you slept?"

"Sleep is for the weak."

"Oh dear," Toma sighed, a slight wrinkle appearing on his brow.

"Now," the beaming smith proclaimed. "Behold!" With that, he pushed the door to the smithy open.

Toma's jaw dropped.

The armor sat on a discrete stool in the middle of the room. The under-armor was now black and the armor itself had turned a grey-blue with silver trim. There was no helm and the new scythe was made up of a staff the same shade of grey-blue as the armor and a white-silver colored blade. The biggest change, however, were the predominant black wings that were on full display, stretching from one side of the room to the other.

Toma's jaw worked for several long moments before he could finally speak.

"Ok," he stuttered. "It's, uh, well. Different."

"You better believe it's different," Metaru said in a peeved voice. He felt slightly offended that the warrior's initial reaction wasn't more…impressed. "It's the best damn refit I've ever done. It's a work of art, if I do say so myself!"

Shayna walked up to the armor and picked up the scythe, testing its balance and weight. She twirled the weapon around once and hefted it, checking the weight once more.

"Nice," she said admiringly. "What's it made of?"

"Titanium alloy," Metaru stated proudly. "The exact formula is, of course, a closely held secret."

"Are the wings functional or just for show?" Toma asked apprehensively.

"Oh, they work. With the armor only, of course. And don't ask how," Metaru added quickly. "Just call it magic and we'll leave it at that."

"Naturally," Toma muttered. "Why don't I have a helm?" he demanded. "What about my head?"

"It's too hard to sustain any real damage," Shayna said absently.

"Besides," the smith added. "I had to use the original helm to make sure that your scythe would work with the armor. And if you're really as good as Shayna says you are, nobody should be landing headshots on you anyways."

"It's called Murphy," Toma growled. "If it shouldn't happen, it will and at the worst possible time."

"Psh. Murphy's easy to get rid of. If you come by later, I'll show you how."

"No need," replied Shayna. "I already know."

"Ah, well, naturally."

Toma groaned silently and summoned the armor.

"What do I owe you?" he asked wearily.

"Not a damn thing," Metaru replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Not as long as you take care of my girl, anyway. Come back when you start making the great-grand babies!"

"Metaru!" Shayna gasped, her cheeks turning a bright red.

"We're leaving now," Toma said in a strained voice. "Thank you, Smith Metaru, for all the work you put into the armor and the scythe. I really appreciate it."

After bowing deeply to the smith, Toma seized Shayna's arm, and they both disappeared.

* * *

#### Earth

The two warriors watched the sunrise from the top of a cliff near the clearing where they had first met.

"Hard to believe that only took one night," Toma said after a moment.

Shayna smirked, a cocky expression appearing on her face.

"Yes, well, we're just that good," she said smugly.

Silence stretched between them, as it had so many times during the night. Toma shook his head in wry amusement. How they had become so comfortable with each other so quickly was beyond him.

"So," Shayna asked in a cautious voice. "Now what?"

"Why don't we find your brother?"


End file.
